


He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother)

by brilliantbanshee



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: BAMF Hunk (Voltron), Bad Things Happen Bingo, Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Blood from the mouth, Gen, Hunk (Voltron) Whump, Hunk and Lance are the best besties, Hunk and Lance centric, Hurt Hunk (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Whump, but they show up, shameless whump, the others don't even get to speak, they are so pURE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 02:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16904232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brilliantbanshee/pseuds/brilliantbanshee
Summary: After a routine supply stop goes wrong (because of course it does) Lance and Hunk are stuck in a collapsing cavern with only each other and their injuries to get themselves back to the castle.And nothing can ever be easy.Or,Hunk and Lance go on a mission to find some minerals. Bad things happen.





	He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother)

**Author's Note:**

> I have been wanting to write more (with all my free time you know) and I love to shamelessly hurt characters, so why not bad things happen bingo?
> 
> Here's some good ol' Hunk & Lance bromance, enjoy!
> 
> (I apologize for any medical inaccuracies in advance)

Awareness came to Hunk slowly, filtered through dust and smoke. There was a hum around him, muffling everything else. He could distantly hear more distinct sounds but he couldn’t identify them, let alone decipher them.

He blinked slowly; willing his vision to sharpen. There was a shape above him, moving ever closer. It was several more ticks before he realized that the shape was also the source of the sound. The shape was only inches from Hunk’s face when his vision cleared. He almost let out a sob of relief when it was revealed to be the worried face of his best friend.

Sound returned a tick later, bringing with it Lance’s frantic questions and the sound of distant crashes.

“—unk, _hermano_ ! Are you okay? _¡Contéstame!_ ”

“Lance?” Hunk’s voice sounded raspy, but come out stronger than he was expecting. The sound almost startled him. At the sound of his voice, Lance instantly relaxed. “ _Gracias a Dios_ ,” he said more softly, “you’re awake. Can you tell me where you’re hurt?”

Hunk shut his eyes again, taking a deep breath and a mental inventory. His head was pounding and there was a sharp pain in his left leg, but other than that, he felt fine. He repeated this result to Lance, whose brow furrowed as he turned his attention to the leg in question. After a few moments he sucked in a harsh breath.

“What is it,” Hunk asked urgently, fully aware of the edge of hysteria in his voice. He _hated_ not knowing things.

Lance’s voice was even, “there’s a piece of debris stuck in the back of your calf pretty good. It’s fairly large and in pretty deep.”

Hunk took a shuddering breath, willing himself to keep calm. “Can you take it out?” he asked.

“ _Lo siento hermano_ , but it looks like it’s in too deep. If I took it out there’s a chance you’d lose too much blood and since I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to get back to the shuttle it’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

Hunk nodded his understanding and took another deep breath. Then he gritted his teeth and pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring Lance’s protests. He needed to see what they were dealing with.

Once he was upright his eyes widened as he took in the destruction around them. The cave like structure they had been in had almost completely crumbled, the once tall cavern ceilings giving way to show large patches of the bright orange sky.

He and Lance had been on a supply run, looking for a mineral that was supposed to be plentiful on this otherwise uninhabited planet. Supposedly adding it to the castle’s existing systems would significantly improve the sustainability of the crystal, allowing it to last decaphobes longer. Hunk had found the whole concept fascinating and had immediately volunteered to retrieve it. He had also immediately convinced Lance to come along because he had noticed his friend getting stir crazy shut up in the castle. There had been no missions for almost a movement now and Hunk could see the inactivity getting to his friend. He had thought it would be a nice trip, a good chance to catch up and stretch their legs.

Looking around now, Hunk could see that he had been very wrong.

“What happened?” he asked incredulously.

Lance sat back on his heels as he joined Hunk in looking around. “I’m not entirely sure,” he admitted. “One minute we were walking and the next everything started crumbling. I think it may have been what passes for an earthquake on this planet. I’m not completely sure what happened to you because the ceiling caving in separated us, but when I got around it I found you here. You must have fallen back onto some of that mineral though because that’s what’s stuck in your leg.”

Hunk snorted at that. At least the retrieval part of their mission hadn’t been completely unsuccessful. Though, he was fairly certain Coran had not intended for them to transport the material in quite this fashion. Hunk tore his eyes from the scattered pieces of rock surrounding them to give Lance a quick once over. His armor was scuffed and cracked in a few places, and there was a small cut bleeding sluggishly above his eyebrow, but he looked it be in once piece.

“What about you,” he asked his friend, “are you alright?”

Lance chuckled at that, “You know me: hard headed. It takes more than a few pieces of rock to take me out.” When Hunk’s gaze remained serious, his expression softened. “I’m fine,” he reassured the other boy, “just got nicked by a couple of rocks, nothing serious; just a few bruises and scratches.”

Hunk was still suspicious – Lance had a history of not being fully transparent about his injuries – but he did seem to be fine. With on last look at his friend Hunk turned his attention to  their surroundings once again.

“So,” he said after a few moments of silence, “any ideas how were getting out of here.”

Lance looked around the debris filled cavern with a critical eye. “I’ll go see if the way we came in is clear. If not I’m sure we’ll find a way out. If nothing else it looks like this earthquake may have made a few new doors.”

Hunk chuckled at that as Lance rose from his spot next to Hunk, gave him a reassuring pat on the knee, and disappeared into the cavern.

Hunk took that time to look around himself again, hoping that the bag of minerals he had already collected was still nearby. At this point he was ready to call this mission a failure and never try again, but he had already collected more than enough of the mineral and it would be nice to not go back empty handed.

It did seem that they were not completely out of luck yet however as Hunk was able to spot the bag just a few feet away, the handle only partially trapped under another fallen piece of cavern ceiling. A few good tugs freed it and Hunk took a moment to savor the small victory.

It was short lived however as the next moment brought with it another tremor. Hunk had barely a heartbeat to cover his head the best he could with his arms before more chunks of debris fell around him. It lasted only a few moments and when it was done Hunk blinked rapidly, trying to see through the dust in the direction Lance has disappeared. “Lance?” he called, already attempting to heave himself up.

No response.

Hunk pushed himself up with renewed determination. He stumbled as his injured leg attempted to give out on him, but used a large rock next to him to steady himself. With a deep breath, he swung the bag of minerals onto his back and stumbled forward.

It was slow progress. Each step sent a new wave of agony up his leg and more than once his leg tried to give our on him. Lance had been right when he said the shard of mineral was deeply imbedded; Hunk could feel it as sure as his pulse.

But he kept moving forward, and after several unanswered calls to Lance, did his best to pick up the pace. After what seemed like an eternity, a cough and a weak voice finally answered.

Hunk veered to the right; using a large rock to support himself as he veered around it. What he saw next stopped him in his tracks.

On the other side of the rock was Lance. He was on the ground. He was pinned. A large chunk of the cavern ceiling lay across his chest. He was straining against it but getting nowhere. Hunk stopped, staring at the scene before him in horror.

He likely would’ve stayed there for several more ticks, but a pained grunt from Lance brought him back to reality. He lunged forward, forgetting about his own injury, and almost toppled on top of his friend. He managed to straighten himself, and reached down to the rock on top of his friend and pulled it off in one try.

He thanked all that was good in the universe for adrenaline as he fell to his knees beside his friend. “Lance,” he asked desperately, “are you alright?”

Lance took a few deep breaths before replying, voice sounding much stronger than it had only a minute before. “I think so. I’ve definitely at least bruised a few ribs, but other than that I seem to be in once piece.”

Hunk let go of the breath he had been holding. He could feel the adrenaline leaving his system and the pain returning with a vengeance. He bit back a hiss of pain as Lance slowly pulled himself back to his feet.

Hunk wanted to protest that the other boy shouldn’t be moving so soon after nearly being crushed to death, but Lance was already offering him a hand before he could even process the words. Hunk looked at his friend critically. He couldn’t see any injuries, so he took the offered hand and allowed Lance to help him back to his feet. Once he was standing again he almost fell right back to the ground. He only remained standing because of Lance’s steadying grip. He nodded his thanks as he leaned back in the rock next to him.

Lance looked at him appraisingly, “You don’t look good,” he noted and Hunk couldn’t bring himself to disagree, “we need to get you out of here. I didn’t get a chance to finish clearing our path before,” he paused, gesturing at the rock that had nearly crushed him, “but I think it’s best if we stick together from now on.”

Hunk nodded his agreement. His adrenaline crash had left him feeling even more unsteady than he had been from the start of this whole disaster. The sooner they got out of here, the sooner he could pass out, which sounded nice.

Lance was still looking at him, “are you okay to walk?” he asked dubiously. Hunk nodded. Walking meant leaving, which meant passing out soon. He could do it.

Lance gave him a reassuring smile and moved so that he was on the same side as Hunk’s injured leg. “Let’s get this show on the road then,” he exclaimed brightly as he slung Hunk’s arm over his shoulder.

 

* * *

 

They started off pretty damn well. Their original path in was blocked, but as Lance had predicted the tremors had made a few new exits for them to choose from. They found one quickly, and while they were thankful to be out of the cave, they had come out on the far side of the structure and now had to walk around it to get back to their shuttle. It was an improvement though - as Lance had pointed out - because not at least they didn’t have rocks trying to attack them.

The first several minutes were uneventful. They walked, keeping up a steady (but by no means speedy) pace, while Lance kept up a stream of conversation. Hunk nodded and made noises of reaction where needed, but he focused on his feet and the ground. He was so focused on his own movements he didn’t notice Lance’s coughs at first.

By the time they had cleared half of the cavern, there was no missing the low hacking coughs that were coming from his best friend. A few times Hunk glanced over at him in concern, but Lance brushed it off. _No te preocupes_ , he assured Hunk,it was just dust. This place was basically a desert after all. (And, with two suns hovering about their heads, he wasn’t wrong).

But as they continued, the coughing got worse.

They were deep, painful coughs. Hunk could feel them through their joined limbs. They sounded heavy, and full.

It was one of these particularly bad coughs that had caused Hunk to look up from his study of his movements in concern.

Which is, of course, when everything went wrong.

In that moment of inattention Hunk’s feet found a divot in the sand, and he pitched forward without warning. He tried desperately to right himself but his… He would have face planted if not for Lance, who lunged forward and caught him by the arm; hauling him back to his feet.

They stood still for a moment - Lance’s hand still on his arm - staring at each other; chests heaving. Hunk could feel the buzz of adrenaline once again.

As he stood there, he tried to form the words necessary to thank Lance for saving him (again).

Before he could so much as form a thought however, Lance doubled over. He body shook as it was overcome with deep, guttural coughs. Hunk reached out wildly, unsure of what to do; looking for some part of Lance’s body to hold on to, to offer some measure of comfort.

The coughs lasted longer than before. Minutes passed with Lance bent over, hacking and unable to take in a full breath. Hunk watched in horror as the coughs finally ceased and Lance sunk down to his knees. There he sat, heaving for air and looking at his hands. After a few moments he turned his face to look up at Hunk with fear in his eyes and blood smeared around his mouth.

Hunk felt his heart stutter in his chest. He let out a brief panicked sob as he threw himself down onto the ground besides his friend, injured leg be damned. He grabbed the other boy’s hands and had to look away to avoid the immediate desire to vomit.

His friend’s hands were covered in blood.

Blood that he had coughed up.

There was absolutely no scenario in which that could be a good sign.

He pulled his gaze up from Lance’s gore stained hands to meet his friend’s eyes. They were clear and blue and _scared_ . It was all Hunk could do to not sob at the sight. But it wasn’t the time for that now, he had to do something. _Anything._

Lance was still struggling to take in a full breath. This was so not good.

Hunk glanced around. He had been so focused on making sure he didn’t fall (oh the fucking _irony_ ) that he had lost track of their progress. When he glanced around he allowed himself a small measure of relief. Apparently the universe did not completely hate them as they had made it around the cavern and now their shuttle was visible and not far. This was good.

The castle was orbiting the planet, so once they got to the shuttle it would only be a matter of minutes before they arrived. Which was the good news.

The bad news was that they had to get to the shuttle before they could leave and given their current situation that was going to prove to be a bit of a challenge, to say the least.

Even as Hunk was considering all their options, he could feel Lance’s gasps for air getting weaker. There was no time for consideration, and Hunk refused to lose his best friend because of a fucking shard of rock in his leg.

Without pausing to fully consider, Hunk scooped Lance up in his arms and began to run.

It was slow going, and each step radiated pain. Hunk ignored it. He could get through this. This pain was nothing compared to the pain that would come from the loss of his best friend.

And Hunk refused to experience that.

The shuttle was looming ever closer even as the pain began to tinge the edges of Hunk’s vision. He ignored it.

Finally, after was seemed like a lifetime, the gangly pair reached the shuttle. Hunk removed one shaking hand from Lance’s body to open the door and tumbled in.

The pair landed in a heap at the base of the pilots' seats, Hunk taking care to not land on Lance. The last thing he needed right now was more chest trauma. 

Before Hunk could even suck in a breath, the pain made itself known again. 

It was raw and all encompassing, tinging his vision red and stifling his breath. All he wanted to do was pass out and just let the pain fade...

But his decent into oblivion was interrupted by the horrible sound of Lance coughing once more. It was so much worse than any of the other times. 

Hunk forced himself upright, frantically turning to find his friend. 

Lance was next to him; a new bright, thick trail of blood running down his chin. His blue eyes met Hunk's, wide in fear. 

Which is when Hunk noticed that Lance's skin was beginning to turn ever so slightly blue. 

Oh god, oh god, _oh god_. Lance couldn't breathe. 

Desperate fear fueled Hunk's leap from the ground into the pilot seat. He forced himself to take deep breaths and he started up the shuttle and jammed the comms switch so hard it almost shattered. 

"Coran, get a pod ready!" he shouted in the direction of the microphone, "we're about 2 minutes out and Lance is not doing well!"

Hunk heard a confirmation followed by more questions in several voices (Coran had not been alone, apparently) but he ignored them all. He instead placed all of his focus on pushing the thrusters to their limits and occasionally throwing a glance over at Lance to make sure he was still, well, not dead. 

At some point Lance had dragged himself closer to Hunk's seat. As Hunk was beginning his descent into the castle's main hangar he felt a hand on his thigh and looked down to see Lance, looking at him intently. His blue eyes were calmer now, and glistening with unshed tears. They were no longer blown wide in fear, but settled into acceptance. As the shuttle completed its descent Lance held Hunk's gaze and moved his mouth, clearly trying to mouth something as he had no air for words. Hunk swallowed back a sob. They were almost there, almost safe. 

"No goodbyes Lance, you're going to be fine, I promise buddy" he said thickly. Lance looked back at him with that same calm acceptance and gave him a smile before his eyes slid closed and his hand went limp on Hunk's leg.

Now Hunk was the one who couldn't breathe.

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck._

The shuttle touched down and Hunk shouted into the comms again. He wasn't sure what he said or if he had even formed words. All he knew was that Lance was _not moving not breathing_ and he was so so still and...

Hunk slid out of his seat, landing unceremoniously next to Lance on the ground desperately grabbing at his wrist, hoping to find a pulse; some proof that his best friend was _not dead not dead_. 

Before he could even get a grasp on the blue paladin's wrist the door to the shuttle flew open and the rest of the team appeared. After a moment of collective horror Shiro scooped up Lance and ran towards the infirmary, Allura and Pidge close on his heels. Keith watched Hunk warily for a moment before stepping closer and putting a tentative hand on his shoulder. 

And on the floor of the shuttle, Hunk finally allowed himself to cry. 

* * *

Find my bingo card [here](http://brillliantbanshee.tumblr.com/post/180913154310/i-wanted-to-get-back-into-writing-so-i-decided-to)! Request things [here](brillliantbanshee.tumblr.com/ask)!

 

**Author's Note:**

> Lance is fine, I swear. He was just almost dead. I imagine he's in the pod for a while, he comes out and then he and Hunk bond over cocoa or something. But that's not really the point of these prompts, is it?
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! If you'd like to request your own bingo prompt you can find my bingo card on my tumblr @brillliantbanshee (please request things!) and leave a comment below!


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